Delhi govt cancels elective surgeries until further notice

nNEWDELHI: The Delhi government Friday suspended all non-emergency surgeries at its 37 hospitals until further notice, to brace for a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

As on Friday, India has recorded 236 Covid-19 cases and four deaths.

The decision was taken after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with medical superintendents of all hospitals. An order issued by the Delhi government’s health department said, “All hospitals should suspend non-essential elective surgery for the time being to ensure bed availability for Covid-19 patients.”

While Lok Nayak hospital is under the Delhi government, central hospitals such as the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital have also cancelled elective surgeries until further notice.

The AIIMS order to this effect came Friday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to not visit hospitals for routine check-ups and to postpone elective surgeries.

Modi, in his address to the nation Thursday, said, “When necessary, you could get the required guidance over phone from your known local doctor, family doctor, or some relative who is a doctor. In case you have a non-essential, elective surgery scheduled, I would urge you to postpone it by a month.”

AIIMS performs around 100 routine surgeries daily , with the waiting period for surgeries varying from a month to a year.

Safdarjung hospital, across the street from AIIMS, performs at least 50 surgeries daily. The hospital cancelled all non-emergency surgeries two days ago and out-patient clinics were restricted from Thursday.

At central Delhi’s Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, the OPDS and surgeries haven’t been cancelled or curtailed but announcements are being made asking people not to come to the hospital unless it’s an emergency.

“The doctors are giving dates with longer gaps for follow-ups. We are making announcements asking people not to come to the hospital unless absolutely necessary. This has resulted in a decline in the number of patients over the week,” a hospital official, on condition of anonymity, said.

Safdarjung and RML hospitals are the nodal centres for treatment of Covid-19 in the capital.